Maker Studio

The Singles Game

"The new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and Revenge Wears Prada--a dishy tell-all about a beautiful tennis prodigy who, after changing coaches, suddenly makes headlines on and off the court. Charlotte "Charlie" Silver has always been a good girl. She excelled at tennis early, coached by her father, a former player himself, and soon became one of the top juniors in the world. When she leaves UCLA--and breaks her boyfriend's heart--to turn pro, Charlie joins the world's best athletes who travel eleven months a year, competing without mercy for Grand Slam titles and Page Six headlines. After Charlie suffers a disastrous loss and injury on Wimbledon's Centre Court, she fires her longtime coach and hires Todd Feltner, a legend of the men's tour, who is famous for grooming champions. Charlie is his first-ever female player, and he will not let her forget it. He is determined to change her good-girl image--both on the court and off--and transform her into a ruthless competitor who will not only win matches and climb the rankings, but also score magazine covers and seven-figure endorsement deals. Her not-so-secret affair with the hottest male player in the world, sexy Spaniard Marco Vallejo, has people whispering, and it seems like only a matter of time before the tabloids and gossip blogs close in on all the juicy details. Charlie's ascension to the social throne parallels her rising rank on the women's tour--but at a major price. Lauren Weisberger's novel brings us exclusive behind-the-scenes details from all the Grand Slam tournaments: the US Open, the French Open, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon. Charlie Silver jets around the globe, plays charity matches aboard Mediterranean megayachts, models in photo shoots on Caribbean beaches, walks the red carpet at legendary player parties, and sidesteps looming scandals--all while trying to keep her eyes on the real prize. In this sexy, unputdownable read about young tennis stars who train relentlessly to compete at the highest levels while living in a world obsessed with good looks and Instagram followers, Charlie must discover the secret to having it all--or finally shatter the illusion for good"-- Provided by publisher.

Comment

Charlotte (Charlie) Silver is a professional tennis player on the rise who dreams of winning a Grand Slam. After a disastrous game at Wimbledon, she decides to hire a new coach, Todd Feltner, a living legend in the tennis world even though his methods are borderline abusive. Thus begin a rigorous training, a strict diet and an image makeover. Soon, Charlie ranks among the best in the world, goes to exciting parties, and starts dating a sexy Spanish player. Everything seems to be going according to plan, but will Charlie be able to achieve her dream? And at what price?

The Singles Game is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at the world of women’s tennis. While Charlie’s lifestyle seems glamorous on the outside, the reality is competition can sometimes bring out the worst in players, and training at this level is grueling work. Charlie is an interesting and complex character who it is easy to root for. However, the author sometimes jumps ahead in time and only mentions some events I would have liked to know more about, especially near the end of the novel. On the whole though, this was an entertaining and fun book to read.

The Singles Game was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

Please go to my blog, Cecile Sune - Bookobsessed, if you would like to read more reviews or discover fun facts about books and authors.

I haven't read a Lauren Weisberger book since "The Devil Wears Prada", but I'm a big tennis fan & figured I had to check this one out. Overall, I enjoyed it -- anyone who loves tennis will enjoy the glimpse at what life on the pro tour is like. However, it definitely lacked the bite of "Devil", even if the formula -- nice, All-American girl enters cutthroat industry, gets caught up in it -- is pretty much identical. Also, I think it's less shocking of an expose overall -- look, being a pro athlete is nuts. If you want to win Wimbledon, it's pretty much a given you are going to sacrifice everything normal about your life to do so. So I guess I wasn't terribly shocked by the intense nature of the pro tour portrayed in this book, because duh. Being the best tennis player in the world is OBVIOUSLY HARD. All of this isn't to say I didn't enjoy it, though -- it's a great beach read, and I'm sure Weisberger's fans will lap it up with a spoon.

The book started out great with a description of Charlie playing on centre court at Wimbledon but afterwards it was downhill all the way - deteriorating to a total "Chick Lit" book. I would go so far as to say it was an insult to a woman's intelligence. Towards the end the book picked up again which earned the three stars.

A perfectly good book about an athlete overcoming incredible odds, except that it got muddled by an unnecessary romantic story line.

athompson10
Jul 15, 2016

Even by beach reading standards, this one is pretty light. You'll figure out the story and who gets the girl within the first 40 pages. This story doesn't have the realistic touches that some of her books works have; while "Devil Wears Prada" feels like the author knows glossy monthly magazines and "Everyone Worth Knowing" is a good look at PR, this book feels lightly researched and not at all insightful about professional athletics.